ELK GROVE (CBS13) — A leaky underground pipe in Elk Grove is spilling hundreds of gallons down the drain every day.

A CBS13 viewer brought our attention to the leaky pipe and is wondering why it would take so long to fix.

When Matt Workman noticed water bubbling up on his Elk Grove street, he did what he was supposed to do: Report the leak to the Sacramento County Water Agency.

That was weeks ago.

“They came out did some spray painting and there hasn’t been any follow up since then,” he said.

He called again and was told an underground polyurethane-sealed pipe was leaking, but that it wasn’t top priority.

Workman did some calculations and came up with 315 gallons of water a day coming from the leak that he reported weeks earlier.

“It just seems a little bit ridiculous we have water restrictions and can only water odd days because of our address but here it’s just pouring out 24-7 constantly,” he said.

When CBS13 first contacted the agency, we received a statement, saying in part, “Given the relatively small flow from this leak it has been given a lower priority and will be repaired once higher priority leaks are addressed.”

But just a few hours later, county crews showed up after all and were busy working on the leak.

“Hopefully we’ll get some results and get this thing fixed. It’s been going on for a while, and I don’t even know how many gallons of water have been wasted,” Workman said.

The county says reports of water waste have spiked significantly during this drought. A neighbor says water workers told her it was the third leak they had fixed in Elk Grove on Friday.